Microsoft Slashes Windows 8.1 Tablet Prices

Microsoft knocks $50 to $70 off Dell, Lenovo, and Toshiba Windows 8.1 tablets, putting them in range of iPad Mini.

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If holiday sales didn't persuade you to pick up a new Windows 8.1 tablet, Microsoft's new promotion might do the trick. The company recently discounted several new slates in its online and retail store, making the devices not only more affordable than the iPad Mini, but also competitive with popular Android tablets. But if you're interested, you'll have to act fast; some of the deals, which began in late January, expire Feb. 2.

Microsoft is offering the 32-GB Dell Venue 8 Pro for $229, down from $299; the 32-GB Lenovo Miix 2 for $249, discounted from $299; and the 32-GB Toshiba Encore, also reduced to $249 from $299. The 64-GB model of the Venue 8 Pro is also available for $50 off, at $299. The Venue 8 Pro is on sale until Feb. 2, and the other devices are on sale until Feb. 9.

The devices are fairly similar: All feature 8-inch, 1200-by-800-pixel screens, and all run on Intel's current-generation "Bay Trail" Atom processor, a substantial improvement from the sluggish "Clover Trail" chip in earlier Windows 8.1 mini-tablets. Unlike iPads, all of them also feature a mico-USB port. Each tablet comes pre-loaded with Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013 and 2 GB of RAM.

There are some differences. The Dell and Lenovo tablets feature 10-finger multi-touch displays, whereas the Toshiba supports only five fingers. The Encore boasts the highest-resolution camera, at 8 MP, although all three vendors offer both front and rear-facing units. The Lenovo claims the best battery life, at 10 hours, while Toshiba brings up the rear, at seven hours. For the most part, these distinctions boil down to individual preferences, so if you buy online, it's a good idea to give the tablets an in-store perusal first.

For those in the market for a slightly bigger device, Microsoft also has discounted the base model of Dell's Venue 11 Pro from $549 to $499. It has a 10.8-inch 1080p touchscreen, 2 GB of RAM, and 64 GB of storage. It runs on an Intel Atom processor, lasts up to 10 hours between charges, and comes with Microsoft Office preinstalled.

Microsoft's website notes that limited quantities of the Venue 8 Pro are available at the promotional price but doesn't mention the other models.

Early holiday sales data indicates Windows tablets gained market share in the most recent quarter but that much of the progress is owed to steeply discounted prices. The new promotion could continue this trend. At $229, for example, the Venue 8 Pro now costs the same as the base version of Google's Android-based Nexus 7. Google's tablet offers a higher-resolution screen, but the Venue 8 Pro boasts more storage. Dell's tablet, like all Windows 8 tablets, can also run desktop apps.

So far, the ability to run legacy software on 10-inch tablets (let alone smaller ones) appears to have motivated only a niche fraction of the tablet market. Progress has been slow even among Microsoft's core customers, such as businesses. Products such as the Surface Pro have been positioned as work tablets, but Apple CEO Tim Cook said this week that iPads constitute 90% of slates activated in the enterprise.

Lower prices could help Windows 8.1 tablets in the short term, but Microsoft and its OEM partners will face tough questions if sales from these low-margin devices don't stimulate Windows Store sales and encourage adoption of more profitable models, such as the Surface Pro 2. Changes Microsoft is reportedly considering for Windows 9, including an interface geared more toward desktop users, speak to these concerns.

Tablet sales like Microsoft's are good news for users who want mobile access to the full versions of programs such as Photoshop or PowerPoint. Fierce competition, however, continues for the pocketbooks of non-Windows tablet users as well, with Apple's base iPad Mini now costing $299; Dell's Android-based Venue 8 selling for $180; and a slew of low-cost Galaxy Tab models emanating from Samsung. Amazon's Kindle Fire now costs as little as $139.

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Michael Endler joined InformationWeek as an associate editor in 2012. He previously worked in talent representation in the entertainment industry, as a freelance copywriter and photojournalist, and as a teacher. Michael earned a BA in English from Stanford University in 2005 ... View Full Bio

@ SaneIT, it is good to know that it works for you. It doesn't please most of the people though. Display might come as a factor when it comes to serious productivity related work but I still agree with you that all-in-one device would be helpful. I second you that it seems to be years before we could actually get rid of some of our hard wares.

@ jlint3024, it is a bit perplexing that Microsoft should set the prices for the devices of other brands. I understand those devices are using Microsoft's platform, but does it mean that it wields Microsoft with price adjustments? It would be helpful if someone could explain how does it work? Thanks in advance!

I have to disagree with you there, I don't think a light weight OS is the answer for Microsoft. I'm expecting the opposite to happen in fact. I see OSX and iOS merging down the road and ChromeOS meeting up with Android as well. There are rumors of an iPad pro out there that seems to be OSX on a tablet much like Win 8 on tablet devices. I know Win 8 has taken a beating out of the gate but it's much less cumbersome than the release candidate I first played with and it has become second nature after using it as my daily desktop. It was such a drastic change they left a lot of people confused but it's not a broken OS.

Yes, I am using a dock and a 27" monitor. It works quite well, the tablet display spends the majority of the day showing my calendar or items from One Note. I work on the larger display in desktop mode not much differently than I would with a Windows 7 device aside from having to jump to the Metro UI to launch applications. I've had a goal for the past few years to minimize my hardware footprint. Eventually I want something the size of my phone to do the same job and serve as my phone as well but I think I'm looking at another 3-5 years before that happens.

To me the major benefit of MS tablet is the full Windows experience so that I can handle my daily work. Frankly speaking, for other use cases such as reading e-books or entertainment, I would prefer iPad mini, which has a more fancy look and is of lighter weight. So Windows RT tablet is not my dish.:-(

Microsoft will have to admit it was wrong about there being no difference between desktop point and click computing and mobile touch computing before they have any success with Windows 9. I don't see that happening any time soon.

That's true; their ads sort of went from poorly communicating the difference to not communicating it at all. Everything in current ads is just "the new Windows." Microsoft is still doing a better marketing job with 8.1 than it did with 8, granted, but yeah, their messaging still needs to be better regarding RT differentiation. Then again, there are only three RT devices currently on the market, so perhaps that's why explains some of Microsoft's marketing choices.

Interesting that you were able to replace both your laptop and desktop. The smaller dimensions of most Windows tablets doesn't get in the way? Are you using some kind of dock and monitor? I think the "3-in-1" use case for a device like the Surface Pro 2 is pretty interesting, but the "2-in-1" use cases have been too limiting for me. I'd be curious to learn more about what you've been able to do with your new device.

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